The Return
by THA musIc GuY
Summary: After the end of the Fourth Shinobi War, Naruto goes away to train. Then, following two years of absence, the now-grown-ninja suddenly comes back, and this leads to the development of certain feelings in his comrades. Naruto x Sakura. Two-shot. R&R?
1. Homecoming

**So this is a two-shot, but like the previous one, I'm not sure about the length, I had a vague idea, and thought about putting it up! So here goes nothing, yet again!**

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><p>Tsunade scrunched her nose. She'd been absolutely willing to give up her position to him two years ago, when the Alliance had won the Fourth Great Shinobi war, but he'd just disappeared saying that he wasn't ready just then. And now, when it wasn't just a question of her will, but one of the village's need for a powerful new Hokage, he <em>still<em> wasn't there! It was his childhood dream for heaven's sake! How could he resist the urge and the greed to get it?

But she knew the answer to that, didn't she? She smiled, the boy who was practically a grandson to her, was also one of Jiraya's pupils. On top of that he'd gotten over the evils of hatred, greed, and all that shit, or so she'd been told by Bee.

She sighed. She'd released a searching team for him over a month ago, but there was yet to be any sighting of him. Her team had basically stopped sending her updates, so right now she was completely in the dark as to where he was. She slapped her hand on the table just hard enough for its upper portion to crack. _Where was he!_

"Master, are you okay?" said a pink-haired Kunoichi coming up to her, and placing a hand on her shoulder. Tsunade looked up at her, and a part of her anger went away. The girl was her student, and she was really proud of the progress she'd made with her abilities. She'd raised a good kunoichi over here, and that really got to her.

"Yeah, Sakura," she said, looking away, " I just wonder where he is."

"He?"

Tsunade looked at her gleefully, "You know, Naruto."

Sakura blushed, "Why are looking at me, my Lady?"

Tsunade comically wiggled her eyebrows, "Oh, you know, he, you, team seven, the war," Tsunade said all this casually, and suddenly gave her a strange waggle of her eyebrows, " Relationships."

Upon hearing her former master say those words, the Konohan Kunoichi, flabbergasted, turned tomato red, and started to hyperventilate, " W-What! What a-are you s-saying master! Nothing like that h-happened! N-Nothing! When he l-left, I w-was i-in love w-with Sasuke! And I haven't h-heard from him since!"

" Yeah right!" said Tsunade, grinning as she looked away, " That emo brat turned you down, and admitted to having gay feelings for Naruto didn't he?"

Sakura's eyebrows twitched, "Sasuke said that he had gay feelings for Naruto? No! No, he didn't do that!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening as she picked up her hands, wiggling them crazily in front of her master, " He just said that Naruto was a special friend of his, not that he felt for him in _that _way! And he didn't turn me down, we dated for six months."

Tsunade pouted, " Six years of searching, just for six months? Heh. Be it whatever, I'm telling you, those two have a few sick things going on amidst them," she looked up at the ceiling, as if pondering on something, " Perhaps if I applied the truth serum on that Uchiha brat, then..."

Tsunade's eyes moved towards Sakura, as the latter gave a small squeak. Tsunade chuckled, closing her eyes, and bending her head. She knew that what she said was having its impact on her pupil, and was pleasantly entertained by that. She was having a boring day, and her frustration was already hightened by the fact that she couldn't find her idiot of a 'Supposed-Grandson', so, this small little play-of-teasing was a good break.

She stood up, surprising a flustered Sakura, who was red-faced and thinking about the ways in which Naruto and Sasuke could have, er, got together in compromising states, and then she went up and stood by the window of her office, her expression unreadable. She looked up at the sky and her lips curved down into a frown. Her eyebrows scrunched and she slapped a hand on the glass of the window.

"Where _are _you?"

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><p>The blonde man was sitting in front of a gravestone in the forest, slightly bent towards the structure, and a smile played on his lips. He was sitting there with his eyes closed, having had formerly placed a bouquet of flowers in front of the grave. He cheekily scratched the back of his neck, and looked up at the sky for a moment, before looking back at the grave and resuming the monologue he was having with it.<p>

"So yeah, that's how those land of tea-guys gave me a hundred thousand bucks, just for delivering a speech...," his eyebrows contorted into a frown, and so did his face, his sideburns softly grazing the the sides of his headband, which bore the symbol of the shinobi alliance, " I still can't bear with getting paid for nothing ya'know, Ero-Sennin. Its been bugging me for over a year now, I mean, sure," he raised his hands, and unknowingly waved them in front of his body, animating what he said, " Its great being called a hero, and all by the people, but... its just strange, ya'know, getting _paid_ for that. Its not... right," he frowned, "And that's why I've decided on something," his smiled turned bigger as he closed his eyes, bathing in the wave of nostalgia that washed over him, his dimples softly coming up as he did so, " I'm gonna go back to Konoha!" he opened his eyes and gave the grave stone a thumbs up, "Dattebayo!"

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><p>One of the security-nin sitting by the gates of the village of Konoha puffed up a bit of smoke from his cigarette as he threw down his next card. He softly chuckled when his team mate made a disgruntled noise, and threw the rest of the cards he had in hands away, admitting to his defeat. The former grinned at the other, and collected the pile of cards, whilst throwing the butt of his burnt-out cigarette away, and placed the deck into a nearby shelf. He then turned in his chair, his colleague doing the same, and looked at the gate.<p>

"Hell, why, _why, _doesn't anyone interesting come in through those two wooden sets of crap!" said Jin, the first guard, his left hand propping up his chin as he boredly looked through the village-gates. His friend, Rayto, groaned, and leaned back in his chair.

"Its 'cause its the month of June, and the interestin' folk've got business down in their vill'ges," he said indignantly, picking up the two of his legs and setting them up, lazily, on the desk in front of the two guards, which carried the register.

Jin placed another cigarette into his mouth, and puffed up some more smoke, before starting to turn towards his friend, " But you kno-"

The words got stuck in his throat, as a figure walked in through the gates he was previously bickering about. His shocked colleague made a weird movement, trying to jump up, while pushing the chair he was sitting in away, and ended up in the floor instead. He quickly picked up his head anyway, and looked, with wide eyes, at the man walking past them. Fuck interesting! This was gold!

"Er, ah," stammered Jin, not knowing what to say as he tried to address the man, "S-Sir, p-please give your a-autogra-, I mean, signature over h-here-"

The man looked at him, and the two guards gulped. He gave them an airy grin and started to walk towards the desk. Rayto feebly pushed to register towards him, and watched, with starry eyes, as the man signed in the small box beside the place where he wrote his name. He tossed the pen onto the register and softly chuckled at the two dumbfounded guards. He'd got used to that reaction by now, it was characteristic of the guards of every village he visited.

"Havin' a good day, huh?" he asked, bending down to sit on one knee, just as the two guards stood up in reverence, leading to the creation of quite a comical scene. He raised his eyebrows and gave a more audible laugh this time, leading to the profuse reddening of the faces of the two guards in front of him.

"Y-Yes..., I-I mean yes almighty! I-I mean-!" Rayton fumbled with words, yet again in a state of distress.

The man's cheeks puffed up with laughter, "C'mon dude, not that much, ya'know!"

Both the guards turned red in the face, and looked down at the guard-house's floor, comical depression-lines forming over their heads. The man lurched back in response, his words had come to possess a certain power of changing emotions after the war, literally! And he _did _have to take care of what he said to the people who treated him like a god; which was to say, nearly everyone.

"Hey now," he said, waving his hands airily in front of them as he smiled," It was just a joke, ya'know! I'll accept whatever ya'all call me, but," his eyes suddenly darkened as he turned his head towards the village," I've got some things to take care of."

The two guards looked up at the man, and their expressions became that of surprise, as they saw the man stand up and take out a cloak from the rucksack which was, until then, slung on his back. In one swift movement, he threw the cloak over his frame, and moved in perfect synchronization with the cloathing, to have it fall over his body. He then took hold of the hoodie behind the thing, and flipped it over his head.

"Ah, s-sir? Will you g-go about in t-that?" asked Jin, curiously pointing towards the cloth.

The man turned towards them, a bit of his blond hair visible beneath the material of the cloak, " Yeah," he said, and then added, " Don't want everybody to go off shouting out my name before I get together with the people I want to meet, ya'know."

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><p>Sakura pulled the chair on which she sat while she was inside her office up to her office's window, and sat down, in a rather preoccupied fashion, on it. Thoughts concerning her blond team-mate floated to her mind, and she picked up her right hand to support her face, as the thoughts suddenly weighed heavy on her mind. She softly scratched her chin with the ring finger of her right hand, and her emerald-green eyes darkened.<p>

_"Here!"_ _said Naruto, pushing a blushing Sasuke towards her with a careless_ _movement of his right hand,_ " _Now ya'all can date, go out, and have all those little Uchiha babes you desire!"_

_Sakura too, started to blush profusely, and her eyes widened and whitened at the words of her team-mate," B-baka!"_

_"Wha-at?" said Naruto, waving his hand dismissively in front of her," No need to thank me!"_

_A nerve temple of Sakura's twitched, and a hand, pale from being tightened to a fist rose up and fluently went on to hit Naruto's stomach. The latter gasped in pain, as sole droplets of blood bounced out of each of his nostrils. His eyes went wide and his body limp, and his frame smoothly fell over Sakura's own._

_"Shut up, ya'know!" yelled Sakura, and then went on to blush even more profusely when she realized that she had just used Naruto's catchphrase._

_Naruto grinned up at her cheekily, just to have her breath out steams of embarrassment from her nostrils._

_"T-That was a mistake!"_

_" Yeah, right."  
><em>

Sakura smiled sadly as the memory came flushing back into her mind, and picked up her left hand in a frail manner to rub its fingers on the cold glass of the window in front of her, her eyes looking longingly at the distant mountains which rose behind Konoha.

"Come back," she said, a solitary tear grazing her right cheek as it fell down, " Please, come _back_," she gritted her teeth, and the glass of her window cracked, surprising her. Her eyes widened, but then returned back to normal when she realized that the cracking of the glass had taken place because of her forcing an amount of her chakra into her hand, unknowingly of course.

Sakura was surprised when she saw the tear on her cheek, and her eyes darkened even more. _This is... new, _she thought, but then brushed it off thinking that it was just sadness at her friend's absence.

XXXX ( - This indicates a break within the perspective of the same ninja)

Ino Yamanaka walked carelessly up the aisle of the market, happily humming a tune as she did so. Her hands held the bag which contained the groceries she'd gone out to bring, and, judging by the way in which the sides of the bag strained, she'd not bothered to stop herself from splurging a bit. Her eyes were closed, and the wind blew the long strand of hair which hung over her face in a playful manner.

_Shikamaru's in for a surprise tonight, _she thought as she opened her eyes. She'd started a live-in relationship with the Nara a few months back, and judging by her cheery attitude, one would take to thinking that things were going about flawlessly between them.

She kept walking up the aisle when her eyes suddenly caught hold of a glimpse of pink hair. She did a double-take, and then grinned trivially, before marching up to the figure and grasping its shoulder. Her eyes looked down comically onto the kunoichi in front of her, as the later gulped.

She slung her bag of groceries a bit back onto her arm, and pointed at the kunoichi, " You," she moved her hand to point at herself, " Me," her hand formed into a fist, " Hakumo's Restaurant. Now."

Not bothering to listen to the woman's reply, the Yamanaka clutched her even tighter, and set off towards the restaurant in a cheery sprint, the kunoichi flying comically behind her as she was tugged along by the same.

XXXX

" Pig! You should have at least let me respond," screamed the woman as she addressed the Yamanaka. But, one could clearly see, that under her angry facade, she really was enjoying the meal they were having as they chatted in their counter.

Ino waved her hand dismissively, having had previously kept her bag of groceries beside her, " Nah, and besides, from all the load of work you've been going through as head medic, I _knew_ that you needed something of a break, Sakura."

Said woman glared at her friend in response, but her anger quickly faded away, and her frown turned into a smile. Ino had been one of her closest friends in the village after Naruto's departure. Sasuke was there, sure they'd broken up, but they were still in quite friendly terms, with the man often being subjected to her monstrous punches. But he just wasn't the same as Ino, because, although _rivals_, Sakura and Ino shared a strange bond, one that was quite parallel to that of Naruto's and Sasuke's, only that Ino had not deflected from the village, Ino had not tried to kill her, and..., wow that _was _a fair lot of differences they had right there.

Anyway, Sakura felt that Ino was her closest friend, next only to, her eyes darkened as thoughts of him flitted back to her mind, _Naruto._

The Yamanaka, fast in spotting her friend's depressed expression, asked her about it.

"What is it?"

Sakura broke out of her daze, and looked at the woman, " Huh?"

Ino frowned, " I know you better than most, pig, and that _was _some seriously depressed face you had up just a moment ago."

Sakura raised her eyebrows, but quickly settled them back, realizing that it would be of no use against the woman in front of her, " Its nothing," she said huskily, coughing to get her voice back to its normal state, " Just thinking about something."

Ino's eyes widened with unhidden curiosity, " About him?"

Sakura's eyes snapped back to her, " Huh?"

Ino wiggled her eyebrows at her, much like how Tsunade had in the morning, " Naruto."

Sakura felt a blush creeping up her features, and that quickly confirmed Ino's suspicions. How'd she known about the Naruto thing anyway? There were tons of Shinobi in Konoha, why pick him? Wh- Sakura suddenly realized the direction in which her thoughts were moving and quickly stopped them. Naruto was her friend.

"Ooooooooo," said the blond, naughtily.

"S-Shut up! Pig." Said Sakura, looking away in a feeble attempt to hide her embarrassment.

But Ino clearly had no intentions of _'Shutting up_', as, just the next moment, she continued, " But ya'know, he's been away for _so_ long," her eyebrows twitched haughtily, " And you've surely-"

"I'm not thinking about him like that!" Sakura protested, but her heart did a double-take.

"Whatever," said Ino grinning like crazy, just making Sakura all the more aware of the fact that they were just about to embark on a long, _long, _conversation.

Sakura groaned.

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><p>Sasuke Uchiha was out on one of the hills beside Konoha, standing still as the wind blew over his clothes; his white top, black 'trousers' (? No clue sorry, I'm no expert on Japanese culture) and the purple ropes which bound his pants to him, his katana remaining still all the while.<p>

One would have thought that he'd been rendered incapable of movement, but the very next moment, he finally showed movement.

He threw a kunai into the air, his eyes still closed, and quickly performed a few hand seals, creating hundreds of shadow clones of the Kunai. They flew into the air for a few moments, and then started to fall freely towards the ground.

Sasuke shifted his legs and firmly placed one a short distance away. His body slumped for a split second, and then he suddenly straightened and faced the kunais. He lifted his right hand to point in their direction, and then, in one powerful movement, opened his eyes to reveal his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

"Sus'aanoo!" he screamed, and the monstrous thing appeared behind him, bow in hand. Sasuke waited for a second, and the thing gathered muscles and flesh, and then scowling at the now-near-the-ground-kunais, screamed.

In a swift movement, the monster in flames picked up its bow, strapped an arrow onto it, and launched it. The arrow flew singularly for a few moments before splitting up into a hundred smaller ones and swiftly moving to intercept every single one of the kunais. A small explosion transpired, and when the smoke cleared, nothing was visible but a few fragments of metal falling to the ground.

The Uchiha smirked at the result, he had only recently been handed back his eyes, having to do with a pair of extremely ordinary ones for the past year, when he'd been under house arrest. He'd been subjected to a trial, after the end of the war, where the kages had pondered on what his punishment should have been. They thought about doing something serious to him, but Naruto had stopped them, saying that without Sasuke, and the latter's brother Itachi, it would have been impossible to stop the edo tensei, since the two were the ones who'd singlehandedly, or perhaps, dual-handedly forced Kabuto to stop the edo tensei, then proceeding to finish him off so that no known users of the jutsu existed anymore.

_Naruto_, Sasuke started to ponder on the blonde. A rare smile enveloped his face, and his eyes softened. What with the strong outlook he always carried, the man had practically torn himself to shreds trying to bring him back! Sasuke became so grateful of him in the time following the war, that he'd openly acknowledged the blonde to be his brother, amidst many a surprised glance. He rarely showed any emotion at all, let alone proclaim someone to be his brother!

Sasuke stretched out his arms, and then cast a look at the mountains that loomed over Konoha; his face bearing an unreadable expression. One of his eyebrows twitched, and his lips bent into a scowl. He fisted his palms, and gritted his teeth, narrowing his eyes at the mountains.

"Asshole," he said, stretching out his lips, and momentarily pausing. Then he narrowed his eyes even more, " Where are you!"

He let out a frustrated sigh, and palmed his face dismissively. He was about to turn around when his senses picked something up. He scratched his temple, and looked up, eyes narrowed, just as a jonin landed in front of him.

"What is it?" he growled, looking suspiciously at the jonin, who, taking note of the black-head's obvious foul mood, took a few steps back in response.

"W-well, s-something interesting just h-happened at the g-gates, and seeing that it w-would have been g-good to inform you a-about it, the guards sent me here," stammered the jonin, earning a glare that conveyed even more suspicion from Sasuke. Seeing that things were progressing towards dangerous territories, the jonin started to panic, and wiggled his hands urgently in front of him, "Its true! Its important! I-its concerning h-him!"

Sasuke's heart skipped a beat, and his thoughts went immediately towards a shinobi with the greatest 'Sunny-Personality' he knew.

"Who?" asked Sasuke, his voice kept level due to years long of experience in concealing emotions.

The jonin blinked at his sudden change in behavior and grinned at the Uchiha, bringing his hands down by his sides, " _Him," _he said, his grin widening, " Naruto Uzumaki."

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><p>Sakura and Ino were bickering about the former's feelings for the blonde who was once her team mate, when the two turned around a corner and started to walk up the road leading to Ichiraku's Ramen. They continued to bicker a bit more, blonde probing, pink-haired denying, until they finally started to near the Ramen shop. Sakura's eyes went up towards the shop and settled on the small building in the middle of the road.<p>

The pink-haired stopped bickering, and, frankly, speaking, as her eyes darkened with unspoken emotions. Ino noticed her friend's change in behavior, and looked towards the object which had taken up Sakura's attention. She turned her head in the direction in which Sakura's eyes were fixed, and took in the view of the restaurant. She smiled knowingly, and closed her eyes.

_Be it now, be it later_, Ino opened her eyes, and looked lovingly towards her friend, _She will come to seriously consider her feelings for him sometime. _She smile, and tilted her head, _A__nd that day..., will unarguably be the best of her_ life.

"Forehea-"

"Sakura."

Sasuke gracefully landed in front of the two. His hands momentarily touching the ground, before he pushed himself up. He dusted his clothes and then, after having given Ino a short nod, looked at the Pink-haired kunoichi with an expression which only the most seasoned eyes could interpret as an excited one.

Sakura tore her eyes away from the ramen-shop and looked at the Uchiha, her eyes widening expectantly when she saw the small glint in his eyes.

"What?" she asked nervously, gulping down her anticipation when she saw the man in front of her smirk.

"Asshole's back."

Sakura felt like time had stopped, and her heart-beat maddeningly sped up. She didn't hear Ino ask her who 'Asshole' was, and neither did she notice her own hands come up to her chest. She looked at Sasuke, and the latter nodded at her affirmatively, having understood what she wanted to ask him.

Sakura looked down at her feet, her eyes wider than ever, and let out a barely audible whisper.

"_Naruto._"

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><p><em><strong>Author's Note: Yep, the first chapter. I didn't bother to keep them in character much with this one, its more of an AU fic. Tell me what ya'all think! :D<strong>_

~THA musIc GuY

_**BTW, the Review button's on the next line! Buh Bye!**_


	2. Meeting

**Author's Note: Second Chapter!**

**Kyuubi-Sama- What you said got to me, so I made some minor adjustments. :D  
><strong>

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><p>Shizune looked at the blonde woman in front of her, as the said person rummaged through a pile of gambling-contracts, and sighed in frustration. The pig in her arms gave a short "Oink", as if understanding her feelings, and brought a small paw (?) up to scratch its cheek.<p>

A letter had just been delivered to her master, the blonde, and now, the said person was savaging the pile of her gambling-contracts, having completely forgotten about the papers she had to pass, as Hokage.

"Lady Tsuna-," she began to address the woman, but was cut off by her master who looked wide eyed at a paper she'd just picked up from the pile. Tsunade's jaw dropped, and her pupils narrowed as she read through the paper. Her hands started to shake, and she carefully placed the paper on her desk, to avoid it from getting harmed in any way. She took in a few deep breaths and then looked up at her apprentice, her jaw quivering.

"I won," she breathed out, loud enough for Shizune to hear.

"Don't feel ba-," started Shizune, out of habit, but quickly stopped when her mind finally registered the information she'd just been presented with. Her eyes widened into two white orbs, and she almost threw the pig in her arms away in shock. Her jaw slackened, and her whole body went limp.

"What!" she screamed, throwing the pig into a nearby chair, and quickly moving up to Tsunade's chair. Her eyes made a quick scan of the paper, and the letter which had just arrived in regards to it. She was momentarily stumped, but then she looked back at her master who was, as she saw, thinking exactly the same thing.

"Something's about to happen," they both said in unison.

As if on queue, at that very moment, the window behind Tsunade rattled, and the curtains blew into the room. The smell of male sweat cut through the air, and Tsunade felt the presence of three chakras in front of her. She slowly looked away from Shizune and turned her head to look at the three shinobi standing in front of her. She gave them three sharp nods in greeting, one for each, and then narrowed her eyes at them.

"Something's up isn't it?" she said suspiciously, speaking her thoughts.

"Er, yes," came the lazy reply of Kakashi Hatake, who's visible eye was looking anxiously at her.

Tsunade felt her heartbeat speed up. She tried to keep her voice steady as she voiced the next of her questions.

"What?" she asked, her voice dangerously close to breaking with excitement.

"Well, uh, h-he's back," said Yamato, biting his lower lip, as he tried to contain his emotions.

Tsunade's eyes widened, just as her heart gave one painful pump, and thudded against her chest. She winced, but quickly regained her calm-demeanor, and brought her hands up to support her face.

"Who?" she asked, pretending to be unfazed.

She looked at the third member of the party, whose black vest puffed up a bit in the wind, and took in the expression his face bore. It was one of shock. Her eyebrows scrunched, and she immediately became even more anxious. Heck, if it was enough to make this brat worried, it _must_ be something big.

She lifted her eyebrows in expectation at the boy, and the latter bent his lips down.

"Well, Sai?" she asked.

"Nar-" started the black-haired ANBU, but a sharp knock on the door, cut him.

Everyone in the room looked at the door in anxiety, not uttering a single word. All their thoughts were about the same person, and they thought about him standing behind the door, clad in his black and orange dress. What did he look like? Had he grown? Is he even more powerful? Their thoughts were a cacophony which they didn't dare to interpret, lest they be disappointed.

"Come in," said Tsunade in a shaky voice, Shizune edging closer to her chair. Even her pig, looked up at the door, the room's mood rubbing off on it.

The door creaked open, and a cloaked figure stepped inside, carelessly striding into the room, and gently pushing the door closed behind him. He brought his hands up behind his neck and intertwined his fingers, his hood making his face invisible to the people standing in front of him.

"Who're you!" demanded Tsunade, her eyes unblinking as she looked up at the person.

Kakashi, Yamato, Sai, Shizune, and even the pig, all looked at the same man, and their eyes widened collectively, as the one in question threw back his hood. The familiar blond hair ruffled in the wind, but it was a bit longer now, coming to an end somewhere between his jaw and his chin. A mass of golden locks fell over the eyes, which sparkled cerulean blue. The whisker marks had grown, and now, they looked more like thin black arrow-heads, and his face had become more 'V-shaped', although still retaining its previous cutting.

"N-Naruto?"

Tsunade didn't know when she'd stood up, and stood there gawking at the man. What she felt was a mixture of pride, and amazement, with the former overlapping the latter, as she finally grinned at him. She took a few quick strides towards him, and slapped him on the back, making him wince, although not taking away the grin from his face.

" My! Gaki! How you've grown!" she said, doing another quick scan of the man. She could beat the crap out of him later, now was the time for a much awaited reunion, she thought, as she watched the blonde straighten up.

Said person looked up at her for a moment, before smiling even wider, his dimples showing. He brought up a hand and scratched the back of his head, as he finally began to address the other blonde.

"What's up baa-chan!" said Naruto, looking at the only living mother-figure in his life with reverence, " Its been a while."

Tsunade's eyes darkened wistfully, and her gaze dropped a bit. She pondered silently for a few seconds, before looking up and smiling weakly at Naruto.

"Yeah, it sure has."

XXXX

The receptionist at the Academy stepped back, and bit her lower lip, as her eyes performed a look-up of the person in front of her. A Pink haired Kunoichi, with her hair spiked-up in rage, and her hands balled into tight fists was _exactly_ the kind of thing she hated about the profession of reception. It was scary, to say the least. To say more, it was making her pee in her pants.

Said woman stormed up to her, and grasped her shirt by the neck-line, making her gasp. She shook her a couple of times before gritting her teeth, which gleamed in the light of the lobby, openly at her. Forget scary, thought the victimized-woman, this was freaking _monstrous_!

"What do you mean, 'they just left'?" screamed the Kunoichi, her voice starting at a high pitch, and then going through a constant diminuendo, making her sound exactly like what the receptionist had just thought about, a monster. It looked like steam was about to come out of her ears, as her face turned scarlet in rage.

The receptionist's eyes widened. This was bad, and she had to come up with a reply fast, or else... She feared that she would soon be subject to what others called 'The-Strength-Of-The-One-Who-Surpassed-The-Fifth'. She quickly thought up a few cautiously placed words in her head, experienced from her years as a receptionist, and tried to make them speech. What she uttered, however, was a string of words like what seemed to be tribal speak.

The Kunoichi flared her nostrils at her, and that finally made the receptionist, who'd gone pale from fear, speak up.

"I-I mean, Tsunade-sama, Kakashi-kun, Yamato-kun, Sai-kun, and Shizune-san, just left here," squeaked the receptionist, closing her eyes in fear of falling dead. To her surprise the Kunoichi left her, and turned away, and started to walk towards the other two accompanying her; Ino Yamanaka, and Sasuke Uchiha.

"I-I'm sorry, Sakura-san," panted the receptionist. She didn't want to get on the bad side of Sakura's mind, one knew what that eventually led to, and it wasn't good. Even if it meant swallowing up her own pride, she'd have to do it, she had no other option.

"Don't be," said the Pink-haired, her back turned towards her, her body slightly shaking, " I... I guess I over reacted, its just that I was hoping Shishou would know something about _him_."

As soon as the receptionist's mind registered what Sakura had just said, she looked up as if thinking about something. She went through her thoughts for a few seconds, by which time, Sakura and the two of her friends were already at the academy's door. Then she suddenly landed on something.

"Wait!"

The three Shinobi halted and looked back at her, startled.

"There _was_ another man," the eyebrows of every single one of the three shinobis raised up, this was news to them, " He was cloaked, so I couldn't see his face, but he was talking with Tsunade-sama like he knew her. It was really strange, it seemed like all he radiated was Yin Chakra [**Okay, I have a confession, I forgot which portion of the Kyuubi's Chakra Minato sealed within Naruto, I'm guessing Yin, but if its Yang, please, just forgive me, and read on**]. And," the receptionist's eyes widened as she finally remembered the key point, she looked up and beamed at the curious group of Shinobis in front of her, " He had blond hair. Which means..."

But none but Ino remained to listen to her, the other two having had fallen into their own deep thoughts. Two pairs of eyes, one green, and the other red [? Eternal Mangekyo?], looked down at the floor in unison, widening as their thoughts caught up to them. Sasuke started to gasp, and he clutched his chest, as, for what seemed like the first time in his life, he started to hyperventilate.

Sakura, on the other hand, went to a wholly different level. Her lower lip was quivering, and her eyebrows were shaking. Her mind tried to process the information she'd just received, but it failed. She thought about blond hair, a musky male scent, and a striking pair of blue eyes. She thought of the last time she'd seen him, when he'd told her that he was going to become even stronger, so that nothing could harm the village while he was there anymore, and, she thought about the times she thought about him, during the past two years, about how she'd felt a strange pain grip at her heart.

Alerted by the direction in which her thoughts were moving, Sakura quickly checked herself, berating herself. Her mental mess was not to break her strong facade. She was _not_ to ponder on what the nature of her emotions were towards a certain blonde, no, she had more important things to do. Like getting a grip on him and beating the shit out of him for being away for so long. Who did he think he was? He hadn't even bid her farewell, when he'd left-

"Sakura?" Ino cupped her chin, gazing worriedly into her eyes. _Holy Sh-_ She was in a state of mental trauma, and these frequent 'zoning-out's were doing nothing to help her with that. She sighed exasperatedly, and groaned internally, when she saw Ino grin at her. Sakura indignantly mouthed the word _Pig_ at her, and had Ino stick her tongue out at her in response.

"Thanks," said Sasuke, not even looking at the two kunoichi beside him, as their quarrel took a more verbal form," That's news to us," he turned towards the kunoichi, who were presently pouting and looking in different directions, their hands folded over their chests. _Ho-oh brother,_ thought the Uchiha in frustration, he'd had just about enough of the two medic-nin's bickerings while he was about," Our search should become easier now, we know that he's with Tsunade."

The two kunoichi suddenly became serious again, and nodded at Sasuke. The group nodded at the receptionist, who was already celebrating their departure, and made for the exit. Uzumaki Naruto was about to be subjected to some serious questioning.

* * *

><p>The Hokage, along with the people who'd joined her just about an hour ago, sat at the now bigger Ichiraku's. They gossiped about the goings-on in the village while Naruto was away, filling the blond in with all the information that he needed to feel like he was back home. He got to know about the various couples that had emerged out of the Konoha Twelve [<strong>I just realized that they called it Konoha 11, because Sasuke was not there, but in this story, he is there, quite literally, so its the Konoha 12<strong>]. Naruto openly voiced his surprise at some of the couples, especially when he got to know about Ino's relationship with Shikamaru.

"That lazy bastard is in a relationship?" he asked incredulously, his eyes filled with mirth," I wonder how he gets it together to give it to her!"

It took some time for the group to understand the allusion Naruto was making, and when they _did _get it, their astonishment knew no bounds. Their knuckle-head of a ninja, was making allusions to..._ sex?_ They wondered the spheres he'd two years of training had covered, and pondered intrigued-ly on their individual mental scenarios.

"So, Naruto-kun," came a soft feminine voice, carrying the slightest hint of flustered-ness in it.

[**Okay, I've started to listen to year 3000 by Busted right now, so I don't know how that's gonna effect my writing**]

The group slowly turned their heads towards the source of the voice, each taking their own sweet time to break out of their thoughts, and saw a visibly flustered Ayame handing Naruto his bowl of Ramen. Her head was bent low, but if one looked closely enough, they would see that she was blushing. The members of the group were pleasantly startled by that, but, after they took a closer look at Naruto, a knowing grin collectively adorned each of their faces. Yeah, Naruto Uzumaki was one _'Foyn' [Yeah, sad attempt at 'Fine' in a British_ accent] catch alright.

Naruto, however, the obnoxious idiot that he was, completely went beneath the clear signs Ayame was letting off. He'd had girls act like this in front of him before, a hundred, maybe even a thousand times! And he _still_ didn't quite get it. But it couldn't be anything _that_ big now could it, he thought, as it was probably just the fact of seeing him again after so many days that was making Ayame act like that.

The group half-expected Naruto to make a move, and ask Ayame out just then, because, handsome as he was, Ayame wasn't any ordinary looking girl either. She'd grown up to become extremely pretty, and had many male-shinobis falling head over heels for her. Their hopes, however, went down the drain, and they smirked when they saw Naruto smile and take the bowl of ramen, ignorantly adding the suffix '-san' to her name, when he addressed her.

Tsunade smirked at the man, as the others looked away, sighing, it was one thing that Naruto was a dumb idiot, but had he been anything else, the name Uzumaki would have lost its charm.

* * *

><p>3 hours later;<p>

"That is a bar," said Sasuke suspiciously, when he saw Sakura stop and look dejectedly at a building. The woman had been driving herself nuts, searching for their blonde team-mate, who, surprisingly, had been evading them all day. Now it was ten o' clock in the night, and they were tired as hell, but they still seemed to have no luck. It had been one _heck_ of a day.

Sakura groaned, and turned her eyes back to the road. Where was the baka? They'd been searching for hours at a stretch, but they still seemed to have had no luck in finding him. Ino had left two hours earlier, saying that she was too tired, and that she would ask them about what had happened the next day. They understood what she felt like, but Sasuke's and Sakura's bond with Naruto was much deeper than what most of the others had with him, and they'd still continued. But now, considering the direction in which things were moving, they needed to go back home.

"Sakura," said Sasuke, as he watched the green-eyed woman yawn widely," You need to go home."

Sakura rubbed her bleary eyes, and looked at him, her eyelids half-closed," I-I'm goo-," she yawned just another time, and swayed slightly.

Sasuke paused, and momentarily looked at her, sighing, before he turned and moved towards Sakura. He grasped her shoulders, and turned her to look towards him, momentarily startling her, and closed his eyes.

Sakura, realizing what the man was about to do, shrieked and closed her eyes," Please! You don't have to! I'll go home right now! And why would you even _use_ your sharingan for something like this!"

Sasuke let her go, and opened his eyes, before quickly looking her up and down. Having done that, he looked back into her eyes, making her suddenly start to feel guilty on the inside. He closed his eyes, and turned his back towards her.

"You need to go to sleep," he said flatly.

Sakura looked away and pouted," I couldn't go off right now, anyway. I have to do my groceries."

Sasuke looked back at her incredulously," At _this_ hour?"

Sakura held his gaze, what she was telling him was true anyway, " Hey! I have had a lot of work to do! And if I don't find the time to do my groceries, its not _my_ fault!"

Sasuke kept looking at her for a few moments, before sighing and looking away, " Whatever. I've gotta crash."

"Yeah, bye," said Sakura, as she watched the black-haired man leap over the roofs of the houses, moving towards the Uchiha residence.

She stood there, transfixed to that spot for a few moments, before letting out a stressful sigh, and starting to move towards the grocery, her mind full of thoughts about her blond-teammate.

* * *

><p>Sasuke jumped over the roof of one of the civilian's houses, his thoughts wandering on the topic of Naruto. The blonde asshole, why didn't he come and greet them. A small talk would've been enough to have taken them out of the frenzy they'd fallen into. A whole day they'd wasted, relentlessly searching for him, but he was nowhere to be seen, which was kind of unusual, because, however great it be, Konoha <em>was<em> a village, and it was a bound territory, not something that should've been able to keep someone from its elites.

He let out a frustrated sigh, as he jumped over the next house. He brought up a hand and rubbed his forehead, trying to make the headache he was having fade away, but it seemed to be of no use. He groaned and stopped jumping, instead he sat down on a roof, and, after having had hung his head down low for a few moments, he finally looked up at the sky, to carry out a bit of star gazing.

" I'd have thought that you'd be looking for me, ya'know."

Sasuke started at the suddenness with which the voice had floated to his ears. He had a weird feeling, which was nagging at him in the back of his head, telling him that he'd heard it before. He knew he'd heard it before, the catchphrase used being the biggest giveaway, but he still couldn't bring himself to believe that it was _him_. Especially after having had searched for him for an entire day, without it bearing any fruitful results.

But his curiosity finally took him over, and he slowly turned his head to look behind him. His eyes widened when he took in the picture offered to him. There, on the other edge of the roof, stood a man, his blond hair ruffling in the cold night breeze, the moon's light giving it an almost supernatural glow. His sapphire eyes, which the Uchiha could find even within a crowd of thousands, shone lightly. That lopsided grin still adorned his face, making it seem like no time had passed at all, like it had just been a day since he'd seen him last. But Sasuke knew that that wasn't true, when he saw the now-grown whisker marks, which were like small arrow heads on his face. His face, which was more angular now. Sasuke internally smirked, at least the Konohan ladies would have another man to ogle at now.

"Naruto?" he asked uncertainly, still not being able to bring himself to believe that it was his former blond team-mate who stood before him. His eyes performed another detailed inspection of his friend, and this time, he finally believed that it _was_ Naruto. Naruto, his knucklehead of a friend.

The blonde smirked and swiftly moved over, to sit down beside his friend, "Sasuke."

Sasuke looked at the blonde with unfazed eyes, but then closed them and grinned. The grin fast turning into a chuckle, he hung his head, and addressed the blonde again.

"Dobe, do you have any idea how long we already _have_ wasted looking for you?" said Sasuke, lifting his head, and looking ahead. He heard the blonde chuckle, and turn his head towards him.

"I thought as much," said Naruto, leaning back on the tiles of the roof, the chakra at his feet keeping him steady. He felt the gaze of the Uchiha sitting beside him flicker, and his head turn, towards him. He smiled knowingly, and continued, "Its still hard for me to believe how fast word about me travels around, ya'know Teme."

"Even after two whole years?" asked Sasuke, leaning back on it in the same fashion as Naruto's. The blonde chuckled softly, but remained silent. Sasuke closed his eyes, and started to ponder on something. Yeah, many things were different, but somethings _never_ changed. Ever since the end of the war, Sasuke had held pride in the fact that he was the only person to whom Naruto spoke openly, showing hints of his actual self, the one which was so secretive.

The blonde turned towards the black-head, "I have a lot of catching up to do don't I?"

Sasuke smirked, "You're speaking like one of those filmy-bastards, dobe," he paused to look back at Naruto, and his smirk slowly became a smile, "But yeah, you've a lot to know about."

Naruto turned away, "Like you getting married to Sakura?" he asked, semi-jokingly.

Sasuke scowled, "We broke up."

Naruto sat up in shock, "What?"

"It just didn't seem right," said Sasuke, his eyes still closed. He felt the blonde's shock slowly fading away, to be replaced by wistfulness. He heard the soft _creak_ of the roof-tiles, as Naruto settled back on them, and resumed his star-gazing, letting out a soft chuckle. Sasuke turned to look at him inquiringly.

[**Now, this is for Animaman. ;) Your idea was cool!**]

"Honestly," he said, closing his eyes, "The last thing I remember, is you punching Sai."

Sasuke grinned at that. Yeah, he remembered that episode alright. It was, to put it bluntly, weird. Plain, pure, weird. It had started off pretty weirdly, and had ended even weirdly, with Sasuke showing the maximum amount of emotion he ever showed anyone, in that first meeting itself. Creepy.

_The assembled members of the former team 7 were seated on the soft grass of the 12th training ground, all heavily panting, and almost intimately sucking at their energy-drink bottles. They were in one row, starting with Sakura, beside whom sat Naruto, beside whom sat Sasuke, and finally, Sai. They'd had a rough afternoon training, and now, it was, what they liked to call, 'Sweat-Time'._

_"Wow," said Naruto, falling back to rest on the grass, as his eyes looked longingly at the evening sun above them. It had been reduced to an orange-red shade, and was presently beautifully setting above them. __His team-mates seemed to nod in agreement, as they all looked up at the sky. Well, most of them seemed to agree anyway, but all that they got out of Sasuke, was a small 'Hm'._

_Naruto suddenly heard Sai's voice and turned to look at the man. The former Black Ops was addressing Sasuke, while the_ _latter seemed to be boredly looking at the ground in front of him._

_"What should your nickname be?" said Sai, mustering up whatever emotion he'd learnt about during the war. It was an appalling mixture, but not as precarious as the look Naruto was giving him. _Shit!_ Thought Naruto, _That gay-fuck's gonna be dead!

_"Hn?" said Sasuke, as he turned around to look at the man. _Sweet mother of god, _thought Naruto as he saw Sai scratch his cheek in contemplation. Naruto and Sakura were violently shaking their heads from behind Sasuke, at Sai, trying to do everything in their power to make the bastard stop. If he came up with something for _Sasuke_, god help him,_ _he'd be a goner before one could say, 'Lee's gay'!_

"_Aha!" said Sai, looking up, while pointing upwards with his index finger. It seemed like he'd landed on something, but that wasn't good, both Sakura and Naruto knew that__ Sai'd be dead after he voiced the next of his thoughts, but there was nothing they could do to stop him now, they knew that, and thus, they conveniently stopped shaking their heads, instinctively rai__sing their fingers to their mouths, and biting their nails feverishly._

_"Gay Emo."_

_The eyes of all the three of his team-ma__tes widened, before Sakura and Naruto collapsed to the ground, trying to contain their laughter, while Sasuke's eyes went white. They could hear the steam come out of the Uchiha's nostrils, and were pleasantly surprised by that. Sasuke's was showing emotions? Where did the sun rise from today?_

_The Uchiha stood up and went and stood in front of the papery-white Shinobi, with the latter looking at him with curiosity. Naruto and Sakura slowly sat up, their ribs hurting painfully from the laughter the contained. They watched as Sasuke stood there, glaring at the man in front of him, probably considering the ways in which he could kill him._

"_Sai," they finally the Uchiha address the guy, his voice shaky with contained anger. Pink and Blond heads shook in fear, as they recognized the voice. Uh-oh, they thought as they remembered the last time Sasuke had used that voice, the time when he'd sent a Sumo-nin-gone-evil to the hospital with a charred pe-_

_"What?" asked Sai innocently._

_Sasuke tilted his head slightly to the side, and grinned at him with fluttery-anger, "Do you know that your name rhymes with die?"_

_Naruto and Sakura watched, transfixed, as Sasuke picked up the ninja in front of him, by his leg, without giving the latter the time to respond. They watched as he growled one last time, before lightning came up around the other hand of Sasuke's. __Uh-oh._

_"What are yo-"_

_"Chidori Penis Smash!"_

The two chuckled softly at the memory, stretching the laugh as they looked at the sky. Then the blonde turned towards his friend.

"You know," said Naruto, wincing as the memory came flooding back to him, "Sai's scream gave me nightmares for a whole month after that."

Sasuke huffed, closing his eyes, "That asshole deserved it."

Naruto turned to look at Sasuke mischievously, "Did he now?"

"Don't push your luck, dobe."

"Wha_a_t? I've always got you to fall back on, haven't I, Teme?"

"You've got my dick to fall back on, you bastard."

Naruto chuckled softly at the innuendo in his words, while Sasuke blushed. That idiot _had_ matured since they'd last met.

"How many girls've you dated, dobe?"

Naruto started at the question. He turned to look at Sasuke, and saw the Uchiha staring at him with the slightest hint of curiosity. The blonde blushed, and turned away, giving the Uchiha the opening he needed. He smirked at the Uzumaki, who huffed indignantly and asked him to mind his own business. The Uchiha wasn't usually the probing-type, but hell, this was Naruto Uzumaki he were talking about. Curiosity came naturally.

"Tell me, or I tell the girls in our small group about the little _detours_ you had with those female Amegakure nin, after the end of the ninja war," said Sasuke calmly, grinning victoriously when he felt the blonde's glare fall on him.

"How did yo-"

"Spill it Dobe."

Naruto seemed to contemplate the situation for a while, but finally gave a sigh in surrender. He closed his eyes and smiled pleasurably, before reopening them, and looking at the Uchiha's curious red-orbs. He saw a twinkle in them as he opened his mouth to finally voice his answer.

"Four."

Sasuke literally jumped at that, and bore down on the blonde. _Four?_ Who'dve thought that the dobe would have had the ability to ask out women! He continued to stare at the Uzumaki for a few more seconds, making the said person turn his head around and look at him in amusement.

"It wasn't that hard, really. The girls asked me out themselves," said Naruto, smiling at the Uchiha, "But none of them were into me for what _I_ was. They were more intent on feeding off my image."

Sasuke's mind cooled down and he looked at his friend in silent contemplation. He smiled in introversion, and closed his eyes, chuckling softly. When the Uzumaki gave him an inquiring stare, he just smirked at him in response.

"Don't worry, your catch is real close."

Naruto frowned at him, and watched as he laid back down on the tiles, yet again. He got no explanation from the man, so he decided to voice his question.

"How d'ya know that, Teme?"

Sasuke smirked, and closed his eyes, "I practically hang out with her everyday."

Naruto felt his heart skip a beat, but he dared not to probe any further. He fought off the thoughts which came flooding into his mind, fantasies from almost every night of sleep he'd had, and forcefully turned his head back towards the sky. Upon seeing the soft starlight fall on his face though, his thoughts smoothly left him, and he, yet again, resumed his star-gazing.

A while later, Sasuke stood up.

"You're leaving?" asked Naruto, frowning as he watched his friend jump to the roof of the next building. The Uchiha stopped, and turned around to look at him, his face bearing a small smile.

"Yeah," he deadpanned, then suddenly smirked as a thought crossed his mind, "Besides, you've got other matters to attend to, haven't you?"

"Huh?"

Sasuke turned around and jumped, vanishing instantly, leaving only a sentence and a furiously blushing Naruto in his wake.

"_I think Sakura will feel lonely, sleeping alone in her large bed tonight._"

Damn that Uchiha.

* * *

><p>Sakura walked up the long corridor; trying to balance the three bags of groceries she'd purchased on her chest, as she swayed precariously under the weight of the same. It was half past eleven for goodness' sake! It never took her too long to get her groceries done, but today, strangely, this truth had been proved false. An hour. She'd taken a full <em>hour<em> purchasing groceries, and it was all the shopkeeper's fault, that idiot had rearranged everything in the shop, making many a customer roam around in cluelessness.

She sighed with relief when she reached the door of her apartment, and placed the groceries down on the ground before finally straightening up, and pulling the small purse she carried about, out of her pocket. As she did so, however, the purse slipped and fell off her hand, and onto the floor.

She cursed, saying something about bad days, and bent down to pick it up, when her eyes widened. A small picture had slipped out of her purse. The material had gone yellow, signifying its age. She'd kept it in her purse for a long time now, hoping that it'd remind her of all the wonderful times she'd had with the others in that picture, but unfortunately for her, one of the other two in that picture always seemed to be somewhere else.

She unconsciously tucked her purse back into her pocket, and picked up the picture, holding it in her hands, while the bags of groceries conveniently lay forgotten. She looked at the blonde-haired boy in the picture, the boy, who was then sixteen years old. The picture had been taken a few weeks after the end of the war, a week after the passing of the verdict regarding the black-haired boy in the photo.

Her heart clenched when she thought about how the blonde had fought relentlessly to save his friend from being subjected to severe punishments. How he'd convinced the council to not destroy the black-head's Eternal Mangekyo, how he'd said that he'd be more than willing to take the blame for whatever the other had done, how he'd publicly abused the Raikage, when said person had called the black-head a traitor.

Sakura started to tear up, but she checked herself just in time. She'd made a promise to him, hadn't she? She'd said that she'd get stronger, physically, _and_ emotionally, to be of better use to him. When she'd said this, however, he'd just laughed and told her that she was already doing the best thing anybody ever could for him, that she was sticking by his side.

Sakura let out a shaky breath, and sighed. A small smiled forming in her face, as she finally brought the picture closer to her chest.

"Baka," She said, her voice the softest one could ever be.

A sudden burst of air blew at her, and conveniently messed up a portion of her hair. It broke her out of her dazed state, and she quickly understood what must've caused it. The window at the end of the corridor, which was two apartments away from her, had been opened, although she had no clue who would do such a thing so late at night. She quickly started to get angry, the frustration she'd felt all day catching up to her fast, when she suddenly turned around to scream at whoever had opened the window.

And her heart skipped a beat…

There, standing at the edge of the corridor, hair blowing wildly in the night breeze was _he_. Spiky blond hair, sapphire blue eyes, tanned skin, and a few new features like better looking whisker marks, and, if she dared to say, a very, _very_ sexy face.

She suddenly understood what she'd just thought about, and mentally started to berate herself. Her small mental quarrel, however, quickly went out the window when the concerned person took a shaky step towards her, and made all her rational thoughts flee. He was staring surprisedly at her, his mouth slightly open.

She gulped.

She stood still, as he advanced a bit more, and came to a stop right in front of her. His smell got carried by the wind to her nose, and started to tantalize her senses. What was this? How could _she,_ the strongest kunoichi of the leaf, the best medic-nin of all the five ninja nations, one of the two famed users of the Byakugou, be reduced to such a clumsy state? And, that too, by someone who was _nothing more than a friend to her_.

Then, he stepped a bit closer to her, increasing the electric atmosphere by a notch. His face however, conveyed no discomfort. His orange cloak blew past him to cover the both of them, as he stood there, inches away from her, as he thoroughly performed an inspection of her with his eyes.

Sakura's legs buckled under his intense gaze, and her breath hitched, but he finally broke the awkward silence, by grinning at her, and beginning to address her.

"You've grown so beautiful," he whispered, his sapphire blue eyes darkening as he said so, the grin transforming into a closed-lipped-smile.

Sakura blushed, and huffed, " B-Baka!"

She was startled when her foggy mind finally processed the fact that she was stammering. How was he doing that to her? She'd never been reduced to such a state before, so how come she was stuttering _now_?

Naruto softly chuckled, and Sakura took the opportunity to take a grasp of her mind, and looked up at him, her eyes white and her face bearing a frown. She quickly made a fist of her left hand, and punched his head, glowering at him.

"Ow!" He screeched the smile still on his face.

"You Baka! Do you even _know_ how much of time Sasuke and I've spent searching for you today? The whole evening, and till ten o' clock into the freaking night, we were outside, running about, looking restlessly for _you!_ Where in _hell_ were you!"

Naruto gave her an apologetic smile, and straightened up, rubbing the back of his head, "I'm sorry, Sakura-Chan, you see, Tsunade Baa-Chan, Kakashi-Sensei, Yamato-Taicho, and Sai, along with Shizune-San, had been tagging me along, asking me to fill them up with the details of my training. I tried to look around for you, while I went about the village, but I saw nothing! That's why we couldn't meet. I met Sasuke on the way here though."

Sakura pouted, and looked away, making Naruto smile. _At least somethings never change._

After having had finally got a grip over her anger, she looked back at Naruto, and saw the latter fumbling with a few keys, a frown on his face. She smiled at him, nostalgia flooding her insides as she performed her own detailed inspection of the blonde. He had a good build now, although it was nothing too bulky, with his muscle-definition barely visible beneath his shirt. His scent was musky, but refreshening. He topped her by about half a foot now, she noticed, and that seemed to have a strange effect on her. She felt like she was more protected now.

Naruto always rubbed off on others, she knew that, and, after a long time, she thought that it felt quite nice to have his mood rubbed off on you.

"So what are you doing here?" She asked finally, looking at him, as he straightened up, and smiled at a key on his key-ring. He held it almost victoriously, his other arm on his hip, and his lips bent into a smile.

Her voice broke him out of his introversion, and he looked at her for a few seconds, before his mind finally caught hold of what she was saying to him. Sakura gave an internal sigh, _Somethings _do_ never change_.

"Oh," he said, bending his head to look at the keys in his hand, then looking back at her, "Baa-Chan gave me the keys to an apartment today," he turned his head right and left, as if searching for something, and Sakura guessed what he was about to say, her eyes widening in astonishment.

"You don't mean you're staying in an apartment inside _this_ building, do you?" Sakura asked, her eyes still wide.

Naruto turned and looked back at her, "Well, yeah," he said, still not understanding the reason of her dazed-state.

Sakura's heart fluttered at that, and she needed to use a lot of effort to keep her voice steady when she asked him the next of her questions, " And w-what's your apartment's no.?"

Naruto took a moment to look at the key he'd just found, "Number… Two hundred and seventy," he looked back at her and saw her leaning against her door for support. He suddenly became anxious, and moved closer to her.

"What happened, Sakura-Chan?" asked Naruto worriedly.

Sakura didn't speak for a couple of moments, taking big breaths, and smiling about something. She thought about what Naruto had just said, and her heart performed a sweet little somersault in her chest. She brought her hands up to her chest, and looked up to beam at Naruto, the latter shooting her a confused glance.

"Sakura-Chan...?"

Sakura smiled at the man, raising her hands to her hips, "We, baka," she said, looking at him, as the screws in his head turned to process what was happening, and she decided to bring him out of his misery, "Are neighbors."

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, the couple [? Foreshadow much? :P] were inside Sakura's apartment, with the kunoichi having had invited the blonde-nin inside. She'd coaxed him into spending the night at her's, though she didn't use a hint of intimacy, and presently walked to her counter, watching him as he slumped down onto her couch. She felt fuzzy in her head, when she heard him let out a groan of pleasure.<p>

_Stop it. Stop it, please._

She shook her head to force out the disturbing images it was conjuring up of Naruto and herself, and moved over to the kitchen counter, which overlooked her living room. Once there, she fidgeted with a couple of boxes before finally picking one up, and looking at Naruto. She saw him, with his head hung backwards over the couch, his eyes closed, and the slightest hint of saliva visible at the edges of his lips. That sent her into a fit, though she didn't seem to get why. _I-Its just the night, _she thought frantically, _A cup of coffee will fix it._

"L-Latte or my a-?" She stopped herself just in time, her eyes widening as she realized what she was about to say. Naruto, however, looked absolutely clueless as he picked his head up to look at her with clear cerulean eyes. For once, she was thankful that he was the baka that he was.

"Yes, Sakura-Chan?" he asked innocently, closing his eyes, and smiling at her. Her heart fluttered. What was going on? This couldn't be happening! What was wrong with her? Was she... Oh Kami, no! Not Now!

"Sakura-Chan?"

Naruto's uncertain voice broke her out of her stupor. She watched transfixed, as he stood up and made his way towards her, stepping up close to her and placing a hand on her forehead. He raised another hand to his own forehead, and looked thoughtful for a few seconds. Sakura almost chuckled, _almost._ _He_ was the one checking _h_e_r!_

But her thoughts quickly kissed her goodbye, when he moved even closer to her, and spoke to her. She had a distinct idea of what he was saying, but nothing much, she realized, as she stood rooted to that spot, staring at his lips. His lips, which moved in a mesmerizing manner just inches away from her own. She saw his tongue, moving, as he formed the words he wished to say to her, but her mind was somewhere else altogether. His breath played at her nose, making her aware of the sweet smell it carried with it. It was like a mixture of Ramen and orange. Plump oranges, mixed with delicious, _delicious,_ Ramen. _Yum..._

"Sakura-Chan?"

She looked up at him foggily, and saw his eyes boring down at her. His beautiful cerulean eyes. Eyes that she felt like drowning into. She knew how clichéd her thoughts were, but she was past caring. She didn't even notice the fact that he'd stopped talking and was presently staring at her as she ogled him up with her eyes. Her eyes flitted back to his lips, which were slightly open. Open, and _inviting. _She opened her own lips slightly, her teeth shining softly in the moonlight.

"Sakura-Cha-"

Naruto's voice was cut off when Sakura moved even closer to him, pressing her form against his own. Her lips centimeters away form his own. He could feel her breath against his lips. She smelled like grapes and cherry-blossom. A sweet smell, something that was doing things he couldn't quite comprehend to his senses.

Sakura saw him close his eyes and shiver against her, a soft sigh escaping him. The air he breathed out directly went inside her and she basked under the warmth it filled her with. A soft smile grazed her lips. She finally found the answers to all the questions that had been bugging her ever since his departure. All the strength she'd mustered up to build the wall that held the feelings she had for him away from her, suddenly felt frail. The wall crumbled, and two years' worth of denial shattered in front of her as she finally did something she understood she wanted to for quite a while now.

She kissed him.

Naruto froze. He felt her warm lips softly cover his own, and tentatively move over them, as she seemed to build up confidence to proceed further. She softly moved her lips over his, and pressed gently against them with her tongue. An indescribable feeling seemed to flood through him, and he gasped, welcoming her, as she slipped her tongue inside. She gently explored him, her tongue rubbing against his, until he finally moved it himself, and softly met her movements.

She moaned, and brought her eyebrows together, as she pressed against him hungry for more. She brought her hands up to his neck and hugged him carefully, not wanting the moment to ever end. She felt him stiffen a little, and almost lost her confidence, but then he moved his arms to encase her hips, and bound her tightly to him, ferociously responding to her.

She moaned again.

They seemed to be glued to each other for Kami knows how long, but at the end of it, they finally pulled back to gasp for air. Sakura was flushed, and was blushing furiously at the event that had just transpired. She knew not what she was to do, as she'd never been this intimate with anyone. Sure, she'd had her share with Sasuke, but that was more one-sided than not. This... _this_ was something else. She had felt him, and he'd felt her. Their movements matched each other perfectly. Their lips had moved in perfect synchronization, and she didn't know how. It had seemed like her body had found the one place it was meant to be, and she didn't want to move away.

However, she didn't know what the _other_ person was thinking. She was too embarrassed to look up at him properly just then, but seeing that she was in his arms, and there was nothing else that she could do just then, she lifted her face too look at him. And blushed furiously when she saw him looking back at her, blue eyes dark with lust, but that easy grin still on his face.

"N-Naruto?" she whispered huskily, realizing how darkened her own emerald obs must have been. She had never felt what she'd just had before, and it was inexplicable. She'd been reduced to a mass of feelings, and nothing else. All she'd known was Naruto, and she'd melted completely into him.

"Sakura-Chan," he whispered back, his eyes still dark and half-closed, his smile unwavering. He moved her a bit, and brought her back a little, leaning against the kitchen counter. He then hugged her even tighter, and brought his face up to her head. After stationing himself there, he gave in to one of his oldest fantasies, and kissed her forehead.

"I _love _that forehead of yours," he said dazedly, "Its so beautiful."

Sakura's eyes widened in realization, when she remembered the last time someone had complimented her forehead. He'd used the exact same words. But... he'd been Sasuke! And Sasuke wasn'-, her eyes widened, and she finally understood what had transpired there that day.

"It was _you_," she whispered into Naruto's face, lifting her face to look at him. His eyes glinted airily, and his smile became a little embarrassed. He grinned sheepishly at her, and closed his eyes.

"Yeah, I was so smitten by you, that I found no other way," he said laughingly.

Sakura's heart lifted and tears formed on the edges of her eyes, "Back then... Me? Why _me?"_

Naruto looked at her confusedly, and wondered if she'd gone crazy, "What kind of a question is that? Its always been you! Always has, always will be."

Sakura's eyes welled forth, and she closed them to keep in the water. She buried her head in between his neck and his shoulder, shaking it in wonder. A warm and musky scent floated to her nose. She smiled, and let a little bit of the tears trickle past her eyes.

"Baka..."

Naruto smiled at her, and shifted her a little to hug her more intimately. He buried his own face into her hair, and closed his eyes, breathing in her scent. He'd waited for so many years, keeping himself in check, keeping his feelings to himself, not allowing himself to break loose, but that all seemed to be in the past now, as he felt his mouth move without his comprehension.

"I love you."

He expected her to punch him. He expected her to be shocked and hurl him away, to tell him that it was too early, and that she couldn't possible love someone like him. But, astonishingly to him, she did nothing but smile against the skin of his neck. Hugging him a bit more intimately, and finally lifting her head to bring it in front of his own. Emerald-green eyes boring into nervous-blue ones.

"I love you too."

Time seemed to stop for Naruto, as he watched Sakura stand up on her toes and kiss him again. This time, taking her time to softly caress him, and explore the recesses of his mouth. He shivered against her yet again, but he couldn't help but smile softly. Many thoughts were coursing through his mind back then, many possibilities of what could have have been, and what could have not. Many scenarios, many people, many obstacles, and many more of the 'many things'. But one thing stuck to him. No matter how grave a situation they be in, no matter how hopeless it may seem, no matter how happy a time they might face, no matter who be the one in between them. Somehow they always seemed to find a way back to each other in the end.

And maybe, just _maybe_, he thought, as he kissed her back, this was _just _how it was destined to be.

* * *

><p><em><strong>SO ME HEARTIES! ANOTHER ONE! WHEW! THIS IS BECOMING A HABIT! ANYHOW, HOW WAS IT? LIKE IT? HATE IT? PLEEEAASE REVIEW! I FEEL REALLY SAD WHEN YOU GUYS DON'T! <strong>_

_**I SINCERELY THANK THE PEOPLE WHO REVIEWED PREVIOUSLY, AND THE ONES WHO ARE GOING TO REVIEW NOW [;D]. YOU'VE GIVEN ME MORE SUPPORT THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE.**_

_**~THA musIc GuY**_

_**BUH BYE! AND, DON'T FORGET, THE REVIEW BUTTON'S ON THE NEXT LINE!  
><strong>_


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